Bees, Bees, Bees! We started the day by focusing on the various types of bees and how incredible they are for our ecosystem. Students were placed with a partner to read provided books and fact booklets to design a poster that included bee facts and drawings. Then, students presented their research to the rest of the group. To add to our bee investigation, we just had to taste some honey from Florida. Students recorded the color, aroma, and flavor of the Florida wildflower, Florida orange blossom, and Florida palmetto honey. I was surprised that their favorite honey was the palmetto!

We then transitioned to the four seasons, focused on our growing zone, and looked at some of the more popular plants and flowers that grow here, as well as local pests and where pollinators go during the winter season. We read Not a Buzz to be Found: Insects in Winter by Linda Glaser. Connecting back to bees, we watched a video about solitary bees. Did you know that 90% of bees are solitary? Students will be bringing home some tubes that can be used to create a wintering home for your local solitary bees. Below is a link about making appropriate homes for mason bees.

Now that students have learned so much about plants and pollinators, and so much more, they have started to design a pollinator-friendly garden. They used a provided criteria sheet of what must be included and may be included in their pollinator-friendly garden design.

A few additional activities from today include learning about how insects see, watching the time-lapse of a flower, and starting to learn about why pollinators, such as bees, are disappearing. We will continue this exploration in the morning.

-Janette Geasley

Mason Bee Video: